Until the last rose dies
by Nox Pluvia
Summary: He knew that he was being stupid, trying to prolong the lives of flowers, but they were symbols of his boyfriend's love. He wanted to keep them alive forever.  Set in an alternative universe.
1. Red Rose

Author's Note: I feel like I should give an explanation to this story before getting started. I noticed while going through Sho stories that he was usually paired with one of three people. While I could understand one of them, and had come to expect the other, the last one initially puzzled me. It seemed very random to me, so as a challenge to myself I decided to figure it out. Romance is not my thing, but I do need a project. I haven't done much of anything since my last breakdown, and this might help. So, this story will be a bit different than anything I've written before, and different than most romance stories. It will be set in an alternative universe, as this challenge would be impossible in canon. The Marufuji Sho in canon is probably straight, unless he's a really good actor, or a gay guy who really likes boobs. I'm leaning towards him being straight, which is a shame. His love life would probably be more active if he were gay with how much of an uke he is. Anyway, the universe will be a real world setting, so no dueling. Just a normal high school. I will try to keep everyone in character, with a few minor changes which shouldn't affect their personalities. I will also include the changes of the character relationships in the show, and translate those to this universe. It should be interesting, if nothing else. The last thing I need to say is that this story will not have a major conflict, or any of the usual romance clichés. It will just be the simple story of two people falling in love, nothing flashy.

This first chapter will be set during the present, after they have gotten together, and the next chapter will go back to the first year of high school. I'm not sure why I decided to start it off like this, it just felt right to me at the time. Originally I wasn't going to post this online, it was just going to be my own personal project. But I decided that I could use critique and tips, so if anyone has any, they would be appreciated.

Disclaimer: the characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX are owned by Nihon Ad Systems Inc. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.

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><p><em>I will love you until the last rose dies . . .<em>

_~Jun_

Marufuji Sho read the note five more times before turning his attention to the bouquet of roses in his other hand. The most recent love letter from his boyfriend was definitely not what he had been expecting. Maybe a poem, or something corny like: the beauty of these roses pales in comparision to yours. That was the kind of romantic gesture he had begun to except from his lover. This note, however, sounded more like he was being dumped. Cut roses only lived for a few days. Did that mean that their relationship would be over soon? Why? He had thought that everything was going great, almost perfect. His parter hadn't been acting strange last night. He was his usual romantic self. So why the depressing note?

Shaking his head, Sho set the letter down on the table, wishing that there was a vase in the apartment. He had been meaning to pick one up for a while now, since his romantic lover had a thing for leaving flowers around for him to find. It was usually just one flower at a time though, so buying a vase hadn't been a priority. Looking at the twelve roses in his hand, he was sure that they wouldn't all fit in the glass he usually used. Determined to keep them alive as long as possible, he decided that two glasses would do for now. He could pick up a proper vase later. After a quick check online, where he learned that the chances of the roses living longer than a week were slim, he put warm water in the two glasses.

He knew he was being stupid, trying to prolong the lives of flowers, but they were the symbols of his Manjome's love. The grey eyed boy wanted to keep them alive forever, though he knew that was impossible. His lover was the best thing that had ever happened to him, even if he was a romantic fool. Just imagining life without him made Sho want to caccoon himself in his blankets and cry. He hated to admit it, but he had come to rely on the other young man for the love and support that no one else gave him. Maybe one day he'd be able to fall in love again if they did break up, but he didn't want to break up. He was still completely in love, and seemed to fall deeper into this love every day.

Smelling the roses absently, Sho let his mind drift to thoughts of Manjome. The love letters under his pillow, each one more corny than the last. The flowers hidden throughout the house, from the closet to the fridge. The 'miss you' texts sent every hour that they were apart, as if to make sure he never forgets. Dinner dates, and cuddling in bed until noon on the weekends. His eyes, his hair, his voice, the way that he walked. Sho loved everything, and maybe he had been taking it for granted. Sighing sadly, he started placing the roses in the glasses one by one. Maybe he could replace the roses with new ones as they die-

His train of thought slid to a stop when he came to a rose that had been in the middle of the bouquet. It looked like the others, but something was definitely different about it. Carelessly placing the rest of the roses in one of the glasses, he held the special rose up to get a better look at it. Sure enough, though very realistic, this rose was made out of some kind of silk.

"It's . . . fake," Sho told himself, wondering what it had been doing in the bouquet. Suddenly it dawned on him, and he could feel his face turn as red as the silk in his hand. Turning around he picked the note back up off the table and read it again, as if to make sure it still had the same words written on it. It still said the same thing, but now it had a different meaning. This was the first time either one of them had brought up the concept of forever. It was a big step in their relationship. Thinking about it, Sho wasn't sure if he would have been ready for this step, if he hadn't spent the past few minutes thinking that he was being dumped. Because of those minutes, he had realised just how important his boyfriend was to him and how much he loved him. Forever might not even be long enough.

Smiling and letting a few tears of relief and happiness escape his grey eyes, Sho set the note down again. He wanted to frame it and put it on the wall in their bedroom. Maybe that was weird, but being strange had never stopped his partner from loving him before. With the silk rose still in his hand, he took his cell phone out of his pocket. He wished that his boyfriend was home right now, but a text message would have to do until later. He'd have to use his time alone to come up with a romantic gesture of his own. Pressing send, he put his phone back in his pocket and sat down at the computer to make notes on what he could surprise Manjome with later.

_You nearly gave me a heart attack you sappy jerk._

_Come home soon._

_I love you. Forever._

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><p>Author's Note: When I came across the 'I will love you until the last rose dies' idea a few years ago I thought it was really sweet, and for some reason the idea stayed with me. It's only been one chapter, and I can already tell that this will be a nice challenge for me. It was a bit harder than I expected, but I that's what makes it a challenge. I think it turned out decent enough for my first attempt at romance, and hopefully I will improve as I go.<p> 


	2. White Lilac

Author's Note: This chapter, unlike the first one, is a stream of consciousness. I wanted a way to quickly detail the important points of Sho's first year of high school and how his relationship with Manjome developed, and this seemed like the best technique to use. I skipped things that were not important to the development of the characters. Certain events have been altered to be better suited to a real world setting. It's definitely not perfect, but I did the best that I could. I just hope it's not awful.

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><p>I first met Manjome when we were in our first year of high school. I wish I could say that it was love at first sight, but it wasn't. In fact, we hardly interacted at all back then, and we were both interested in other people. The first time I remember noticing him was after our first exam results were posted. He was ranked second, but he looked mad. I was close to the bottom of the list, and I couldn't understand why being so high up was something to be mad about. I didn't think much of it though, since it wasn't like we were friends or anything. I just thought it was weird.<p>

My first crush was Yuki Judai. I used to think that he was the coolest person in the world. He had a low rank, like me, but he never stressed over it like I did. He was always just going with the flow and enjoying his life, something that I had never done before. I was always trying to meet the expectations of my parents, who thought that I should be a genius like my older brother. While Judai may not have been the best influence, I needed to have him as a friend. I probably would have ended up breaking down from the pressure if he hadn't taught me how to relax. I was able to reach my full potential because of his help. Not in our first year, but eventually. I actually almost dropped out of school, but Judai was able to convince me not to. He even stood up to my brother, who was the top of third year and the most popular guy in the school. He really was a great friend.

Manjome doesn't talk about high school too much, unless he's talking about us. I did learn why he was mad at his ranking later on that year, though. I remember it because it was the first time I thought that maybe we could be friends, if he wasn't such a jerk. He had genius brothers who had always first when they were in school, and he had to be first, too. There were even rumours that he was punished if he got anything else. When he was ranked second again after our second exam, he ran away. Everyone talked about it in our class, wondering where he went, or if he had committed suicide. Judai even started a 'Search for Manjome' club. He eventually came back on his own after he got his own apartment close to the school. I don't know where he went, or why he came back. Maybe I'll ask him one day.

Since he missed so much school, Manjome ended up at the bottom of the rankings with me and Judai. That's when we started to be friends, well, sort of. He sat in the back of the class with us, and talked to us. He didn't have very nice things to say, but he did somehow end up a part of our group. I still had a huge crush on Judai at the time, so I didn't pay much attention to Manjome. I'd feel bad, but he didn't pay attention to me either, except for when he was making fun of my height. He still does that, actually.

Not long after Manjome came back, there was a bit of an incident involving some bullies. I've been bullied plenty of times before, but this time was different. I can still remember it vividly. I was walking home from school after staying late to study, so the sun was setting. They ambushed me when I was walking past the playground I used to play on when I was a kid. There were three of them. They were mad that my brother was smarter and more popular than they were, but they were too scared to confront him about it. So, they decided to take their anger out on me. I probably would have gotten hurt pretty badly had my brother not walked by when he did. He actually protected me. He had never done anything like that before. I just sat there stunned while he scared them off. Then he asked me if I was okay even though he was hurt more than I was. It was our first real bonding moment. Our relationship didn't change too much after that. We didn't become really close or anything. He just stopped ignoring me. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it meant a lot to me at the time.

Later on that week Manjome dealt with his brother issues, too. His brothers were a lot worse than mine though, so it didn't have a happy ending. I've asked about it, but he refuse to talk about what happened exactly. All I know is that he ended up getting disowned. Since he already had his own place he didn't have to move, and he had a lot of money in his bank account so that wasn't a problem either. It was more of an emotional blow. It hurt him pretty badly, not that he let anyone know it. A few days after it happened, he told me that I was lucky to have an older brother who wasn't a complete jerk. That was the only time he even slightly mentioned what had happened with him and his brothers. I was surprised that I was the one he talked to about it, if briefly. He started to make fun of me more after that, and I started fighting back. We still make friendly jabs at each other. It wasn't a very romantic progression in our relationship, but it was something.

About a month before the end of first year, Manjome fell in love with Tenjoin Asuka. She was ranked third in our year, and was one of the most popular girls in the school. He used to chase after her with flowers, chocolate and love letters. She wanted nothing to do with him. I feel a bit jealous thinking about it now, but at the time it was hilarious. He even had her brother giving him love advice. She was definitely not impressed. Actually, I think she had a thing for Judai. Top students usually don't talk to the bottom students much, but she talked to Judai quite often. Enough that they were friends, even. Misawa, the top student in our year, did to, but he was trying to get Judai to take school more seriously. Asuka just did it because she wanted to. Yeah, she probably liked him.

It was a pretty interesting year when I think about it. By the end my brother had graduated at the top of his class, of course, while I was still at the bottom of mine. I was friends with Manjome by the end of the year, but I still liked Judai, and he still liked Asuka. If you had told me then that I would end up with Manjome, I definitely would not have believed it. It's funny how much people can change in just a few years. People grow closer, or fall apart. Happy moments and heartbreak. It was all worth it to end up with Manjome's love.

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><p>Author's Note: Yes, the ending is sappy. I'm horrible at endings, and I got tired of changing it so . . . yeah.<p> 


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